Guards at San Antonio Air Force base exchange fire with unknown shooters

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- An exchange of gunfire between military personnel and assailants outside an Air Force base in San Antonio forced the closure of the facility's main gate on Saturday, military officials and local police said.

An unknown suspect or suspects first fired shots at security personnel at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland/Chapman Training Annex around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, the San Antonio Police Department said in a statement issued to media outlets.

More shots were fired just before 5 a.m., coming from a sedan stopped on a road east of the same entrance gate.

"For a second time, shots were fired at the Air Force Security personnel, however, with the additional security personnel present, multiple Air Force personnel returned fire toward the suspect vehicle," police said. "Upon investigation, evidence was located indicating shots were fired from the suspect vehicle's location. This investigation is ongoing."

Base officials also confirmed the shooting incident in an issued statement.

"We did not have any casualties or injuries," the statement said. "It was not an active threat to the installation. San Antonio Police Department are handling the investigation of the incident."